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Saturday, January 2, 2016

Jet Li And Tony Jaa Will Pummel Vin Diesel In 'xXx 3'

If we’re being entirely honest, I have no idea why, in 2016
(in case you were curious, yes, I typed 2015 first), we’re talking about a
xXx sequel, but here we are. As much as I love questionable
action fare, the 2002 Vin Diesel-fronted, XTREME sports-centric flick is a
total turd. It’s even more of a Mountain Dew commercial than the new
Point Break (though it does still make me laugh that the
villains are a group called Anarchy 99, that shit is gold). But apparently Vin
Diesel wants this to happen, and when he puts him mind to it, things get done
(see Riddick). And while it’s hard to condone this, they’ve
added some legitimate badasses to the cast.

Titled xXx: The Return of Xander Cage (I wonder if
they’re going to acknowledge the last sequel, 2005’s xXx: State of the
Union with Ice Cube?) will obviously star Diesel as the viral
daredevil-turned-international-spy, but we will also see international
superstars Jet Li and Tony Jaa show up to kick some ass as well. There’s no
word on their roles, but Twitch reports that the two martial artists will
pummel the other characters. Guess Diesel liked what he saw working with Jaa on
Furious 7. If you’re putting together and action movie, it’s
hard to go wrong with either of these men.

Bollywood superstar Deepika Padukone has signed up for this
ride, and will reportedly be one of the good guys. Newly crowned UFC
featherweight champion Conor McGregor will also appear, making his big screen
debut, and that’s going to be a thing that happens. We’ll see, but let’s just
say that fighters making the transition to action heroes have a spotty track
record (Ronda Rousey is going to be in a ton of movies now, but that doesn’t
mean she should). But who knows, the weird little leprechaun could be awesome
as a cackling, maniacal villain. I’d watch the shit out of that.